By Kiley Russell

Contra Costa County residents who have survived violent and traumatic experiences will soon have three new places to go for help.

Starting Thursday, three new recovery centers catering to the needs of people who have suffered physical violence, human trafficking and other forms of abuse will open in different parts of the county, according to officials from the Contra Costa Family Justice Center.

The new Contra Costa Trauma Recovery Center will offer free “trauma-informed mental health counseling, psychiatric evaluation, medication management and clinical case management” to all victims of violent crime, according to a news release.

Services are open to all violent crime survivors, including people who have experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, battery, gun and gang violence and human trafficking.

The services are being provided in partnership with Familias Unidas and are made possible because of a roughly $800,000, two-year grant from the California Victim Compensation Board, according to Family Justice Center executive director Susun Kim.

The money will help pay for three licensed clinicians, a contract psychiatrist and a part-time phycologist, Kim said.

While the grant money will only last two years, Kim is hopeful that the county can identify additional funding sources to keep the program running past this initial phase.

Kim said: “We really have to stretch these dollars to provide much needed mental health care in our community. … Because of COVID so many people have needed mental health support.”

The new centers are in Richmond, Antioch and Concord and people looking for support can call the Family Justice Center’s main number at (510) 974-7200.

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